A closer look inside one of Thomaston's largest industries

Staff Writer

Thomaston is known for its Southern charm and appeal, but did you know that an item locally made is used all over the United States, thousands of times a day?

That item is what InnoWare Plastic Inc., formerly known as Duni Corporation, or Dester manufactures 24/7: plastic to-go containers. Its customers known regionally include Cracker Barrel, Quizno's and Captain D's. In August 2006, Duni was bought by an investment group, Norwest Equity Partners, and so came about the name change.

InnoWare is located on 2260 Delray Road, just across from the airport, and the industry has been a prize possession of Upson County since October 1989. InnoWare is a manufacturer of plastic and paper products for the food service and retail industries. InnoWare Plastic produces most to-go type containers locally, and their sister company InnoWare Paper produces many paper products (like napkins, plates and table cloths) in Menomonee Falls, Wis. 

In the food service products industry, competition is tough, especially with foam manufacturers, but the "inno"vative clear lid design puts InnoWare a step ahead. Innoware's containers come in various sizes and shapes, and they have even begun to go "green.”

To become environmentally aware, market requirements have driven material suppliers to develop a clever new plastic material that can break down in 90 days, when in a compostable environment. With the change of needs in our environment, it's clear that rethinking business plans and objectives is key to remain a top competitor. Such is the case with InnoWare, when they launched the new Eco Product Line in May 2007. The plastic material used is made from plant starch, a 100% renewable resource. The Eco Line began production this week. 

InnoWare employs 130 jobs in a facility over 360,000 square feet. The safety of employees is a major concern at InnoWare. 

The local facility just completed the Dupont STOP Safety Training program. This was a six-week-long program in which employees, are trained to use different procedures and practices to improve safety.  

One of the main contributors to the safety improvements is the DuPont STOP Safety Observation Cycle. The STOP system acts as an audit check list, and employees fill them out when they see something that is unsafe. The cards are turned in by employees then collected and entered into a database. This information is then used to correct issues before they can manifest into possible incidents. Training has really paid off, and last week workers celebrated 90 days without a recordable incident. 

Randy Ballinger, Maintenance Manager said, "Our classes teach employees to watch out for others, because your safety, and of others is the most important task of the day." Ballinger, who is also a member of the Maintenance Roundtable, (maintenance supervisors from Quad, Oracle and other large industries in Thomaston work to help each other), believes that training classes are vitally important in the everyday work process.

"Training is a great investment in our technical associates and their future. The real payoff, it watching employees learn new things and apply this knowledge to resolve issues on the production floor," stated Randy. 

Not only does InnoWare want to strengthen technical community support through resourcing together, but they plan to add 15 more jobs by the end of this year.

The Distribution Warehouse, which was closed in 2005, and sent to Nashville, will reopen near the end of the year. The warehouse will provide 15 more jobs for Certified Manufacturing Specialist and Certified Warehouse Specialist. InnoWare Plastic is working closely with Flint River Technical College, and certified manufacturing classes will be available in March.

InnoWare is here for the long run, and developing stunning products isn't the only thing they wish to bring to the community. They are always looking for new talent and ideas.